found the answer:
i had to copy the nfs2ea.exe[3dfx version] from the nfs2se cd to the folder it installed into, then changed the shortcut to point to nfs2ea.exe.
now i all i have to figure out is how to get incar camera to work, nfs2sen.exe allows for 4 camera views but 3dfx version nfs2ea.exe only has 3 views.

i am going thru my old games to see which ones i want to keep and which ones i will give to my nephews.
how do i setup need for speed 2 se to run in glide, on the cd in the setup folder there are 2 other folders glidenr and glidersh, each have a glide2x.dll and fxmemmap.vxd[3Dfx DirectX Driver] in them. if i let the game sit at the main menu, there is a nfs2 movie that runs and in the corner there is the 3dfx logo. just curious.
game is running in software mode cause fsaa in d3d\glide has no effect on the game.

w98, dx8.1b, v4 4500, d3d-1.04.00, glide2x\3x-ksmoky, ogl-1.07.00.

if someone still has this game running in win9x with glide, what are your reg settings:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Electronic Arts\Need For Speed II SE

do you have any switch in the short cut?
ex:    "G:\Need For Speed II SE\nfs2sen.exe"  [-d3d0]  
like nfs hs uses that switch -d3d0